Friday, July 17, 2009

Tahquitz Rock located in the San Jacinto Mountain Range in Southern California was first climbed in 1930. 12 routes were set back in 1935, and in 1950 the Yosemite rating system for climbing was created at Tahquitz. The granite rock sits above the mountain town of Idyllwild, and has some of the worlds “Classic” multi pitch climbs. We have had our eye set on climbing “Open Book”, since this past winter and just now had the chance to climb it yesterday. The approach up to Tahquitz is steep and has 800ft elevation gain in less than half a mile, and is a couple of miles up. “Open Book” is a 4 pitch 5.9 climb on the 1000ft rock face. The climb was amazing, and is definitely a highlight for recreation this month. We are looking forward to future trips to Idyllwild to climb more of these killer routes! Happy Trails from the E-Tour, Alexis & Topher